BIO

Niki Hartley originally came to Florida as a middle blocker, but switched to the outside hitter role her sophomore season...Has been able to fill either of those positions, though, when needed...Is touted as one of the finest-conditioned athletes Florida has ever had, according to the coaching staff...Is an explosive jumper who improved her jump reach to 10' this summer and is very quick to the ball on defense.

Career Highlights: Member of the 1999 U.S. Junior National Team...Team placed eighth in the medal round of the World Junior Championships.
Career Honors: First-team All-SEC (2000)...SEC All-Tournament Team (2000)...SunTrust Invitational, UF Hotel & Conference Center and California Golden Bear Classic (at Berkeley, Calif.) all-tournament teams (2000)...SEC Academic Honor Roll (2000)...Honored by the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame in November 1999 for being named the 1998 San Jose High School Athlete of the Year and Volleyball magazine's 1998 National Prep Player of the Year.

As a Junior (2000): A first-team All-SEC selection and SEC Academic Honor Roll student...Outstanding defensive player who stepped up her offense this year...Finished 10th in the SEC with 3.09 digs per game...Named to the SEC All-Tournament Team after recording 3.22 kills per game and a .324 hitting efficiency...Played in all 112 games...Led the team in kills (359), attacks (961) and digs (351)...Had 10 double-doubles on the year...Recorded double-digit kills in 22 of 34 matches, best on the team...Had double-digit kills in nine straight matches (Sept. 1-16)...Most recent time was 19 digs in sweep of Tulane Nov. 25...Had a team-best 16 double-digit digs performances...Has set career highs in kills (20), attacks (51) and digs (24) this season...All, but her kills record, were posted against No. 2 Penn State in the State Farm Classic consolation match...Got her 20 kills in a three-gamer vs. Florida Atlantic...Recorded a season-best .538 hitting efficiency (8-1-13) vs. Arkansas...Was named to the SunTrust Invitational, UF Hotel & Conference Center and California Golden Bear Classic all-tournament teams.

As a Sophomore (1999): Had six matches with double-digit digs...Averaged 1.9 dpg in the SEC Tournament...Set a career-high .800 hitting percentage (4-0-5) in home sweep of Georgia...A huge factor in a sweep of Alabama, resetting her career-high with 15 digs...Careered in kills each night of the Mississippi series while playing at middle blocker...Had team-highs of nine digs against instate-rival Florida State and 10 digs vs. No. 21 Arkansas in the SEC opener...Returned from her national team assignment and recorded a career-high 11 digs against No. 26 North Carolina...Played in the Junior World Champion-ships and missed the first two weekends of competition.

As a Freshman (1998): Had the match-winning ace against LSU and the match-winning kill against Tennessee..Began to see more action after play in the Nebraska US Bank Tournament ...Started working on transition from middle blocker to outside hitter...Saw her first collegiate action in the season opener against No. 13 Ohio State in which she played in two games.

Prior to Florida: Named the U.S. Volleyball Association Most Valuable Player after her club team won the 18-under open division national championship at the Junior Olympic tournament in Dallas, Texas, in summer 1997...Selected as the 1997 Volleyball magazine National Prep Player of the Year...Led her high school team to the 1997 state championship title where she was named MVP...High school team was also state champions her freshman year and runner-up sophomore year...Also named a U.S. Junior Olympic All-American and the 1997 Gatorade Circle of Champions High School Girls Volleyball Pacific Region Player of the Year... Received the Debbie Baynes Athlete of the Year Award at her high school...Named Player of the Year and Central Coast Player of the Year by KICU TV-36 and San Jose Mercury News, respectively...Was the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League's all-league MVP...Was featured in In-Side-Out on the vball.com web site her junior year...Honor roll student...Also active in choir, Karate, swimming, track and field, and basketball.

Personal: Enjoys horse back riding, travel and all sports... Favorite sports figures are her teammates...Mother is an accomplished swimmer...Prematch ritual includes eating a bowl of Lucky Charms...Favorite food is strawberries...Is an English major.